Key Highlights
- The US Dollar traded higher this week and moved above 111.50 against the Japanese Yen.
- There is a crucial ascending channel forming with support at 111.70 on the 4-hours chart of USD/JPY.
- US Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending 16th Sep 2017 decreased from the last revised reading of 282K to 259K.
- The US Manufacturing PMI preliminary reading (Sep 2017) will be released today, which is forecasted to increase from 52.8 to 53.0.
USDJPY Technical Analysis
The US Dollar remains in an uptrend and is currently positioned well above the 111.00 support against the Japanese Yen. However, the USD/JPY pair recently struggled to settle above 112.70 and is correcting lower.
Looking at the 4-hours chart of USD/JPY, there is a crucial ascending channel forming with support at 111.70. During the recent drop, the pair broke the 50% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the 111.09 low to 112.71 high.
However, the decline was prevented by the 111.60 support. The pair is once again moving north, but lacking momentum to break 112.20.
To sum up, the pair must stay above 111.70-111.60 to remain in the bullish trend.
US Initial Jobless Claims
Recently in the US, the Initial Jobless Claims figure for the week ending 16th Sep 2017 was released by the US Department of Labor. The forecast was slated for a rise from the last reading of 284K to 300K.
However, the actual result was well above the forecast, as there was a decline in claims to 259K. The last reading was also revised down to 282K. The 4-week moving average now stands at 268,750, which is around 6,000 more than the previous week’s revised average from 263,250 to 262,750.
The report added that:
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending September 9 was 1,980,000, an increase of 44,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
The result was positive, and might continue to support USD/JPY above the 11.70-50 levels in the near term.
Economic Releases to Watch Today
US Manufacturing PMI for Sep 2017 (Preliminary) – Forecast 53.0, versus 52.8 previous.
US Services PMI for Sep 2017 (Preliminary) – Forecast 55.9, versus 56.0 previous.
Canadian Retail Sales July 2017 (MoM) – Forecast 0.1%, versus +0.1% previous.
Canadian Retail Sales ex Autos July 2017 (MoM) – Forecast +0.4%, versus +0.7% previous.
Canadian Consumer Price Index August 2017 (MoM) – Forecast +0.2%, versus 0% previous.
Canadian Consumer Price Index August 2017 (YoY) – Forecast +1.5%, versus +1.2% previous.
